Dr.

VIPIN KUMAR SINGH

Assistant Professor
Subject- Legislative and Quasi Judicial Powers of Administration
Class- LL.M. II Semester

Topic- Difference between unitary and federal systems?

Difference between unitary and federal

systems?
A unitary system is different from a federal system in that a unitary
system is composed of one central government that holds all the power,
while a federal system divides power between national and local forms
of government.

The Unitary governing system:

• Places its power in one central governing system

• Very little political power exists outside the central government

• The powers of this governing system are uniformly applied throughout

• All major government decisions are made by the central government

• If smaller government units are established they are controlled by the

central government and can be abolished by such without their consent

• Many unitary governments are either dictatorships or totalitarian

• France, although Democratic, is governed by a Unitarian body

• Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Barbados, Morocco, and Spain are examples of
unitary monarchy government

• China, Afghanistan, Italy, Zambia, and the Ukraine are examples of

unitary republic government

The Federal Governing System:

• Distributes power from the national government to local/state

governments to adopt laws that are reasonable to the country as a whole
and the localities

• Power may be diffused in the federal system

• Multi-national states often have a federal system

• Larger countries often adopt the federal system since constituents may
live in areas remote to the location of the central government

• Ethnicities with in a country may lead to a federal system as their rules

and laws may vary. An example of this is the small country of Belgium
which balances the needs two distinct ethnic groups

• The United States has a federal governing system with a national

government and Constitution, in conjunction with states governments
and constitutions